Barbara Bush, Who Saw Two of Her Men Become President Dies At 92
Former first lady of the United States, Barbara Bush who was the wife of 41st President and mother 43rd President died aged 92.
Former first lady of the United States, Barbara Bush who was the wife of the 41st President and mother of the 43rd President died aged 92 at her home in Houston Texas. Jim McGrath, a family spokesman, announced the death in a statement posted on Twitter.
News of her failing health had been reported since Sunday with the office of her husband, former President George Bush, issued a statement saying that after consulting her family and her doctors, Mrs. Bush had “decided not to seek additional medical treatment and will instead focus on comfort care.”
The New York Times described her as the widely admired wife of one president and the fiercely loyal mother of another. It also noted that the Bushes had celebrated their 73rd wedding anniversary in January, making them the longest-married couple in presidential history.
Barbara Bush’s legacy work was in promoting women's rights, and her strong personal views sometimes clashed with the Republican Party’s politics. For instance, she once said as her husband ran for president that abortion should not be politicized. She was also a strong proponent of women’s literacy, raising awareness and eventually launching the nonprofit Barbara Bush Foundation for Family Literacy. After George H.W. Bush's presidency, he and Barbara raised more than $1 billion for literacy and cancer charities. "I chose literacy because I honestly believe that if more people could read, write, and comprehend, we would be that much closer to solving so many of the problems that plague our nation and our society," she said.
A writer, her books include an autobiography and one about post-White House life. Her children's book about their dog, Millie, and her puppies written during her White House years was, as were her other books, a bestseller.
Barbara Bush was outspoken about the current U.S. President Donald Trump. In one of her last interviews, the former first lady said in early 2016 she was "sick" of Trump, who belittled her son George W. Bush repeatedly during the 2016 GOP primary campaign, adding that she doesn't "understand why people are for (supporting) him." "I'm a woman," she added. "I'm not crazy about what he says about women."
Most recently, Bush published a note in the spring edition of Smith College's alumnae magazine, where she declared: "I am still old and still in love with the man I married 72 years ago."
(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Apr 18, 2018 08:18 AM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).